The convent of San Francesco alla Collina, according to some scholars such as Gaetano Savasta, was used as a convent in 1114 by the king Ruggero II, as a royal chapel dedicated to St. George and would therefore be a Norman building. But other researchers, including Paolo Orsi, attribute its origins to 1300. It seems that inside this building the simulacra of “Federico III of Aragon” were placed; this would explain Queen Eleonora of Aragon’s affection for this place after her husband’s death, happened in June of 1337.
Actually in 1345 it was her who gave the sacred place to the Franciscans, who remained there for over 500 years until 1873, when they were transferred to the small church of the SS. Salvatore. The church was the only building on the historical hill of Paternò to suffer serious damages during the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed the towns in the Noto Valley.
The church, together with the monastery, was restored immediately after the earthquake, and this explains the presence of some Baroque decorations such as the “stacco” medallions. The church was then returned to the Franciscans, who took care of it until they were transferred somewhere else. Subsequently, it was used as a funeral chapel for the family of the baron Gioacchino Cara Zucchero who, in the early 1900s,do to the collapse of the ceiling, made it renovated, but unsuccessfully.
All the incidents along the centuries suffered by the Convent have erased most of its original features.
You can recognize the traits of the typical Franciscan architecture with its austerity in the gray masonry and in the large windows; in the geometric definition of the internal cloister and in the severity of the composition, and finally in the rectangular plan of the church. The medieval characteristics of the building are increased by the walls’ structure, made of bare stone with a thick mixture of “malta” and a basic structural plan.
As you can notice, the most important decorative element is represented by the alternation of two colors: the white of the calcareous “conci” and the black of the lava stone blocks, both in the archivolts of the front door and in the frames of the pointed arch little windows.
Of the entire structure, the church is the best preserved part thanks to a 1984-1985 renovation. Its plan is typically Franciscan, with a single nave which is extended towards the small square sanctuary situated on the east side and delimited by an ogival arch with white and black “conci”. The arch introduces the harmonious cross vault, sustained by long structure in lava stone. The original frescoes, Franciscan style, used to cover the walls with sacred (representations and) images of the saints, have been hidden by thick layers of plaster, but you can still recognize some parts of them on the walls at the sides of the presbytery. But the structures that are present on the wall surface, drawing on the walls a series of blinds “portalini ciechi”, are an important example of “rocaille” decoration that shows the interventions during the 17th century. From a door at the right side of the presbytery it is possible enter to the L structure of the building, which is the convent. Here, the structure develops around a closed indoor courtyard, with a central cistern, used for the water harvesting, that appears as a rudimentary cloister. Through a fake Gothic portal you can enter inside a vestibule, whose two sides the structure is longitudinally extended, which includes the convent with its connected buildings.
On the right hand there are the biggest rooms, including the refectory, the kitchens, the capitular room and the “diaconico”. On the left, instead, there are smaller places: the warehouses, the stable, and the workshops, all interconnected by great ogival arches. Because of the deep structural weaknesses and of the current state of the building, it hasn’t been possible to rebuild the rooms upstairs, surely used as a dormitory.
This section was written by Sara Nicotra (5C) and was spoken by Alice D'Agostino (3DT)
